


An Equivalent Exchange

by xwannaflyx



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Character Death Fix, F/M, alchemy is a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 11:55:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19463476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xwannaflyx/pseuds/xwannaflyx
Summary: Tenten's expression was mutinous as she stared down Headmaster Sarutobi. “Such arrays are not permitted,” he began, a voice of steel wrapped in a soft grandfatherly persona. “You know such arrays are forbidden in this school. No educator or student of this school would practice such alchemy.”Tenten didn't give a fuck. The normal methods had not yielded results so she would do whatever was necessary to get back what she had lost. No hesitation.





	An Equivalent Exchange

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Naruto Magic Week Day 3 Prompt: Alchemic Arrays. 
> 
> imagine some weird fusion of a hogwarts, fullmetal, naruto universe and that's the setting. whoops.

Tenten's expression was mutinous as she stared down Headmaster Sarutobi. “Such arrays are  _ not  _ permitted,” he began, a voice of steel wrapped in a soft grandfatherly persona. “You  _ know  _ such arrays are forbidden in this school. No educator or student of this school would practice such alchemy.”

“Wouldn't they?” Tenten demanded, chin high and eyes freezing cold. “Would you like me to tell you how I managed to find that array?” She seemed strangely unrepentant for someone standing trial before an ethics committee and facing possible expulsion if not binding. 

“I imagine you searched out forbidden texts,” Sarutobi said sternly, staring down at her from above his glasses. “Such texts are forbidden for a reason.”

“I used the textbooks of required reading assigned by the school,” Tenten snapped back, “I found it through the supplemental readings given by the professors. And I found it in the research done by our illustrious Second Headmaster Lord Tobirama, and our prolific researcher Lady Tsunade,” she snarled at the frozen stillness of Sarutobi’s weathered face. “I found pieces of it in the infamous seal that you, yourself, created Headmaster Sarutobi, and I followed your research to its natural conclusion.” There was a frozen stillness and a sudden discomfort into the professors and researchers sitting on the panel. “I did everything you taught me,” she snarled like a challenge, “and I did it right.” She stared into the eyes of each and every person on the panel before turning her gaze back to Headmaster Sarutobi. “I took everything every single one of you gave me and I took all the supplemental readings that we never really touch and I created an alchemical array that would do what I needed it to do.”

“You made the array,” Jiraiya suddenly interrupted, staring at the small girl in shock. “It was a Tier Four array,” he added in a hissed whisper when Sarutobi threw him a glare of stiff disapproval.

“Tier Five actually,” Tenten snapped, stubborn pride in her face. “The actually summoning burns through the first layer so that the array could not and cannot be repeated. That's how I created it.” Her gaze was challenging and dark when she turned it on the professors. “I made sure that it couldn't be reversed or redone. I thought of it all.”

“Did you think of the consequences of your actions?” Sarutobi demanded, his voice echoing with sudden power, “the sacrifice?”

The stare Tenten returned way hard and unforgiving. “We’re killers at the core, Headmaster,” she said coolly. “What does it matter that I didn’t technically receive orders for these kills when we had bounties for their dead returned already announced? The job that all of us have is in being obedient killers. I just happened to be more efficient.”

“Efficient?” Headmaster Sarutobi asked warningly.

“They were all going to die eventually,” Tenten snarled, her yes shining with an almost madness. “All I did was make sure that their deaths would actually mean something. You’re the one that always told me, equivalent exchange.”

“You killed fourteen people,” Jiraiya suddenly interrupted, frowning. 

“Double the number seven for luck. Seven for the price of one good soul that Death may not wish to return.” Her stare was pure mathematical assessment, “I told you. I thought of everything.”

“And was it worth it?” Headmaster Sarutobi asked, his voice betraying his age. 

Tenten’s smirk was pure victory. “Is Neji back from the dead?” she asked, crossing her manacled arms. “I’d say it was.”

-x-

Neji woke from weightlessness to pain. His limbs felt heavy and unfamiliar and opening his eyes was more of a struggle than he was expecting. “Cousin!” He groaned as he felt familiar arms embrace his strangely unfamiliar body. Hinata’s voice was strangely watery; he wondered who he needed to beat up for that transgression. 

“Hinata?” he croaked, trying to move his arms enough to hug her back and only feeling the limbs flop back and forth. “What happened?” He suddenly had a sneaking suspicion that  _ he  _ was the one that had put those tears in her voice. 

“We were all really worried, dude,” Naruto’s voice suddenly said. Neji groaned in annoyance. Of course that idiot was here; if Hinata was crying and he wasn’t trying to inanely comfort her, that would be the day. “We’re all glad you’re uh...” Naruto suddenly trailed off and Neji heard some strange shuffling noises and a small pained huff. 

Neji finally managed to crack his eyes open and stared blearily at his various underclassmen and single classmate staring around his bed. There was something wrong about this picture. He groaned, closing his eyes and trying to get his fuzzy brain to focus; why did something seem wrong. He slowly opened his again and stared at Lee’s teary face. “Lee,” he croaked, eyes scanning through the crowd again, “where’s Tenten?”

It took two terrible explanations, a furious Sakura throwing out a bunch of people, a slightly more sensible explanation, and a reluctant admission of where Tenten currently was before Neji finally could understand the whole story. 

“I need to see her,” Neji said immediately, trying to sit up. 

“Damn it, Neji!” Sakura snapped, quickly tracing an array on her hand then smacking it on his chest. “You’re injured, you idiot,” she grumbled, keeping a careful eye on the array doing its work. 

“She did a highly risky, experimental array and then was immediately carted off to be imprisoned without any medical examination, Sakura,” he snapped right back, batting her hands away. “Tenten doesn’t make mistakes on her arrays. I’m fine.”

“Well seeing as most people also don’t deal with life alchemic arrays, maybe you should let me make sure you’re alright,” Sakura grumbled, humming thoughtfully as she checked Neji’s health yet again. “Interestingly, there does seem to be nothing wrong,” Sakura added, frowning slightly. 

Neji shoved her away again with another grumble. “Like I said,” he repeated, swinging his legs off the bed, “Tenten doesn’t make mistakes on alchemic arrays.”

-x-

“Neji,” Tenten breathed, uncontainable and indescribable joy filling her face. He watched as a bloom of light spread from her chest outward before simply leaving her with a faint glow. Tenten’s emotions had always been purely reflected in the magic she summoned. “How are you feeling?” she asked, worry filling her gaze. “Any—”

“I really feel as if that should be my question,” Neji said dryly, staring at his girlfriend. (Ex-girlfriend? If he died, it seemed logical to believe that they had technically broken up but she had also been the one to bring him back to life so he was a little confused on the logistics here.) “You were playing with life alchemy? Really?”

Tenten’s smile was sly and Neji felt it hit him like a war summons in the chest. “I did warn you to survive the war,” she teased, her voice playful with a touch of warning. 

“Otherwise you would do something drastic, yes, I remember.” He sighed as he rubbed his chest, ignoring the way Tenten’s sharp, too golden gaze immediately fixated on that movement. “I didn’t really think this was in the cards.”

“You always did lack imagination, darling,” she said easily, her expression playful but her smile flashing sharp as she crossed her legs. She sighed, her eyes soaking in the image of him. She could see the little movement of his pulse in the thin skin of his neck, the faint flush of blood on his skin. Even in her sealed cell, she could almost taste the hum of magic that raced through his veins. “Everything working fine?” she asked, a little too casually. 

Neji rubbed the bridge of his nose and Tenten felt like something was finally right in her world at that little familiar action. “Everything is working fine. I can even work magic fine,” he added, a little incredulous. He looked up at Tenten, something disbelieving in his gaze, “What in the transcendent did you do that manage that?”

Tenten looked very much like a well glutted greed summons. “Anyone that knew is already dead,” she said easily, flicking her bangs out of her eyes. “And I’m not really planning on this array to spread past here,” she added, tapping her temple. Her expression softened as she took in the worried crease of Neji’s brows, “Not even for you, Neji.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said quietly, searching her gaze. He had always known how to read her, how to predict her; that had been what had made them such an unbeatable team in the battlefield. “I was just worried at what you gave.”

“Nothing I wasn’t willing to give,” she said, her eyes flashing dangerously. “Nothing that wasn’t well worth it,” she added, offering him a gentle smile.

Neji stared at her for a long while and Tenten watched as his eyes began to glow. “You don’t seem to be missing anything important,” he finally said, the glow fading. Tenten cocked her head to the side, mischievous but strange amusement on her features, “Do you think I considered ou less valuable than my magic?” she asked, her lips quirking. 

Neji’s smile was a little twisted. “I hoped,” he finally said. 

Tenten laughed then, the sound echoing in her cell. “Would you do any less for me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Neji’s laugh was just loud even if the gleam in his eyes didn’t quite match the humor. “Without hesitation.”

“Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I’m the one that stayed,” Tenten replied, smile widening, “considering I’m much better at creating arrays than you.” 

Neji almost smiled at that. She was always so stubborn, never willing to give up on her own position and never willing to give in. This was a rare opportunity that would never have been possible. When he had closed his eyes that night, he had expected to never see her again. “I suppose it is,” he agreed, reaching forward careful. 

Tenten blinked slowly, the glow of her golden eyes softening as she stood. Carefully, she reached forward as well, fingertips gently meeting his through the uncomfortable tingle of the seals. “Haven’t you learned, Neji?” she said fondly, her head tilting to the side. “I’m always right.”


End file.
